You’ve heard about Patch, but what about Datasphere, the company that’s launched more hyperlocal news sites in more communities than AOL? Today it announced it landed another $10 million in funding (for a total of $26.5 million) as it continues to expand with partnerships with TV stations owned by Gannett, Fisher, Raycom and LocalTV.
“Having launched over 300 neighborhood websites over the last 60 days, we’re on track to provide neighborhood news to more than 1,200 communities by the end of the year,” said Satbir Khanuja, CEO of DataSphere, in a press release. “We’ve experienced a tremendous demand for our services.”
Compare that to Patch, which recently hit the 100 site mark and is aiming for 500 by the end of the year. Datasphere says it has deals with media companies to power neighborhood news in 40 percent of the U.S. population — significantly larger than Patch’s current expansion, which is focused primarily on the suburbs.
A Datasphere site run by KOMO TV in Seattle. The sites span Seattle neighborhoods and larger metro areas, like Bellevue.
To handle the demand, Datasphere is hiring fast. The Seattle-area company has hired 150 new employees and plans to add 150 more by the end of the year. “This additional funding will ensure we’re able to accelerate our growth rate to meet the requirements of our rapidly expanding client base,” said Khanuja.
Those new hires are focused on technology and sales — the coverage and marketing is handled by local TV partners. It will be interesting to see how aggressive stations dedicate coverage resources to the sites, especially when compared with Patch, which hires a dedicated editor for each site.
(Full disclosure: I co-founded a network of neighborhood blogs in Seattle, and Datasphere powers sites in some of those same neighborhoods.)